Hi, my name is Chanda and I’m a 15-year-old girl who lives in a rural village in Rajasthan. Like most girls my age, I go to school and try to keep up with my studies, but there’s one thing that makes my life a bit harder than it should be: my period. In my area, it’s considered not good to talk about menstrual health. So, when I first got my period, I was completely lost. I didn’t know what to do or how to handle it. I had heard rumors that you were supposed to use cloth, but I wasn’t sure how to go about it. So, like many girls in my village, I started using old rags and cloth to manage my period. It wasn’t ideal, but I didn’t know any better. It was embarrassing to talk about it with my friends, and I was always worried that someone would find out and shame me.

But one day, everything changed. RSKS India organized an awareness workshop about menstrual health in our village. I was hesitant to go at first, but something inside me told me that it was important. At the workshop, I learned about the importance of using sanitary napkins during my period. I had never even heard of them before! The RSKS India team members explained to us the health benefits of using sanitary napkins, and how it could prevent infections and diseases. I was amazed, and a little bit angry too. Why had no one ever told us about this before? Why did we have to suffer in silence? At the end of the workshop, the RSKS India team members provided every woman and girl who participated with a free packet of sanitary napkins. I was overjoyed. It may not seem like much, but it was a game-changer for me.

As No longer did I have to worry about using dirty cloth during my period. I finally had access to something that was safe and hygienic. It made me feel more confident, and I was no longer ashamed of my period. I started telling my friends about what I had learned at the workshop, and encouraged them to use sanitary napkins too. It was hard at first, because they were also afraid of being shamed. But little by little, we started to break the taboo around menstrual health in our village. Now, more and more girls in our village are using sanitary napkins. It’s still not an easy topic to talk about, but we’re getting there. And it’s all thanks to the work of RSKS India and there Be Free Be Happy. I’m so grateful for what they did for me and for our community. They opened our eyes to the importance of menstrual health.